Scientists Discovered that Dinosaurs Weren’t the Only Gigantic Creatures that Lived on Earth

Recent discoveries could shed a new light on the evolution of species. A study published this week in the Science journal shares new information about a gigantic creature which lived in the same age as dinosaurs.

Dr. Tomasz Sulej, researcher from the Polish Academy of Sciences and one of the scientists who was involved in the study declared that we could be looking at a once in a lifetime discovery. After analyzing the findings, researchers were able to determine that the strange appearance lived 200 million years ago.

Studies showed that the beast was a vegetarian

The amazing discovery is actually the fossil of an elephant-sized reptile. The remains show that the living creature looked like a rhinoceros and had a turtle’s beak. The colossus ate plants, so it could be a distant relative of herbivore dinosaurs.

Further information suggests that the plant-eating beasts were dwelling on the territory which today belongs to Eastern Europe. Their existence dates back over 200 million years ago and proves the fact that Tyrannosaurus and Co. weren’t the only giants crossing the Earth during the Triassic Period, as we initially believed.

Another interesting fact about this special creature is that it could be a cousin of present days’ mammals. Genetic analysis shows that the newly discovered member of the evolutionary process might have been constructed in the old mammal style, despite the fact that it has reptilian origins.

The creature was named Lisowicia bojani, according to the place where it was discovered – a village called Lisowice and situated in southern Poland. Until they can discover more information about this unusual neighbour of dinosaurs the team of researchers are currently analyzing other genetic markers. Their discovery is very important for the science world and it could help them understand other unknown facts from the beginning of ages.